Is is just me, or does this title fit a good portion of the people that post in the Rant & Raves? Personally, I am a Heterosexual Conservative, God-fearing Christian, but to each their own. Before you get all froggy & jump, I have many friends from all walks of life & that includes homosexual liberal.....well, I don't know any atheists.

Basically, I just wanted a reason to post this pic. Ya'll can Rant & Rave about it. Have fun & I'll enjoy reading.

I do wrap a mean package. I'm sort of the holiday icon in my family, I'm known for my copious use of tape. Fold the paper over, tape it. Fold the other side over, fold it under itself (so you get a folded edge vs. a cut edge), tape it. Fold the top flap down, tape it. Fold the botton flap up, tape it. (Alternately, fold the side in and top it on top and bottom, then repeat with other side). I use 17 pieces of tape on the average present.

The secret is to use double sided tape. Fold each corner so that there are NO raw edges anywhere on the package and use the double sided tape under each corner. That's the professional look.

airwayman: Thanx for clearing up the gender question. I would have been SO disappointed to learn that you are not the virile stud that I have envisioned from reading your posts.

Yeah, I'm one virile stud. I look a lot like Brad Pitt....only I'm shorter, fatter and my face is different.

Yeah, I'm one virile stud. I look a lot like Brad Pitt....only I'm shorter, fatter and my face is different.

That's odd. I look exactly like Julia Roberts in just the same way!

Actually dear, it was a triple post. :heh:

On a completely separate note, I got denied today! :angry WTF? I'm apparently not fat enough to be automatically approved. My BMI is just under 37, but I'm diabetic and have high blood pressure (I'm on three diabetes meds and three BP meds for Christ's sake!) and high cholesterol/triglycerides. They want FIVE YEARS' of medical records! And if that wasn't enough, the WLC faxed a records request to my old PCP - it's going to be 7-10 days before they will MAIL my records - they won't even fax them! And the woman I talked to there was such a bitch! "That's our protocol." WHAT? There's a protocol for getting a copy of a chart? Oh yeah, here's the kicker. She snidely pointed out that there were other people waiting for their records and that I "haven't been seen in the office for over three years." What the fuck does that have to do with anything??? Is she mad because I changed doctors and now go to one less than a mile from my home and work? AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Ok, rant over. At least for the time being...

Oh, Ms Dad, that is such a bummer!!!:cry My heart goes out to you.

Would the old office give you your records so that you can hand deliver these over to your current doc's office? Then his office could fax the records to WLC.... And it does sound that you and your doc must launch an appeal of this ruling ASAP emphasizing the severity of your co-morbidities.

If all of this doesn't work and you find that you must pay, please do shop around before deciding on who will do your surgery. There is a huge difference in price right there in the USA from what I have read on this website - anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000! I have also read that the Mexican clinics do great work and are around $8,000. The downside is arranging for aftercare - the fills - in the U.S. Come to think of it, there are even threads on this site devoted to problems encountered with insurance companies and WLS. I think that it is time for you to start studying up.

All my best hopes and wishes are for you.

Eddie: Triple post. It will make you feel even better.

Most of the people who have had insurance help with the surgery say that they were turned down multiple times. You have to be very persistent and just let them know that you're not going away.

Here's my experience: I was flatly turned down. My insurance company said that they never (N-E-V-E-R) pay for any type of bariatric surgery. We scrounged up the moo-la and I proceeded to have the usual tests run to make sure I was a good candidate for the band. I knew I had a hiatal hernia - for 20 years I've known. In some cases a very large hiatal hernia will prevent you being able to get the band. After my doc read the xrays, he determined that mine was not too big. He said that he would fix the hernia while he was placing the band and it would cost another $2000 which brought the bill to $20,000. We sucked it up and went forward with the surgery. He and the hospital submitted all of the pre-surgery test bills as well as the surgical bills to my insurance company and guess what!? The insurance company sent us an check for $9,900.!! We were elated. They determined that that amount was due to the portion of the surgery that was for the hiatal hernia repair (which they do normally cover.) So, there are many avenues to explore. Lots of people find out they have a need for gallbladder surgery and that can work for them with the insurance companies.

Anyway after making a short story long, hang in there. Where there's a will there's a way. Just keep making phone calls and being insistent and there's a chance that you'll either wear them down or find a loop hole. Good luck!

Many people over the years have said I look like Jane Fonda. That's not always a good thing in some circles. But I'm ticked. She's decided that we're not getting any cosmetic surgery in our old age. And yes, she IS older than I am.

P.S. When she was bulimic, I got the eating part down right but kept forgetting to frow-up. :rolleyes

P.S. When she was bulimic, I got the eating part down right but kept forgetting to frow-up. :rolleyes

:D Funny post, grrl. :clap2:

gee tanks, comrade in humor!

airwayman: If you weren't married, I'd propose. Just think... a man who uses double sided tape for wrapping gifts. Wow.

airwayman: If you weren't married, I'd propose. Just think... a man who uses double sided tape for wrapping gifts. Wow.

Forget the double-sided tape, I'm still boggled by a man who actually wraps gifts. Or buys them...:heh:

Yeah lisah! My point exactly!

In my family we were raised on gift cheques - these pre-dated the gift card but also posed no problems vis-a-vis wrapping 'em. Yup, picture the tiny Greens waking up on Xmas AM and stealing quietly downstairs to the the artificial Christmas tree to find what?? Only a small neat pile of envelopes.... Thank gawd fer the stockings!!!:phanvan

I honestly dislike gift cards. My kids think they're great. They just have to go to a store they know you like and plop down some $$. One size fits all. Little envelope, no muss, no fuss.

I think the whole idea behind a gift is that you care enough about the givee to take the time to figure out something they would like and then go put the purchase on it, wrap it and worry with exchanging it if it is the wrong size or type or whatever. Guess that's the Martha Stewart in me.

The kids think it's all about just getting something they really want. No need for surprise or the excitement of ripping open a beautifully wrapped present after guessing what's inside. Yuk. How impersonal. We could just be exchanging money as far as I'm concerned.

Realistically their approach may have come about because I may have been off-target with my selections from time to time. You think? Sigh.

In my defense I have to tell you that they dearly love the stockings. To this day. Last year I decided not to do them and they all had a fit. I wind up spending more on the stocking stuffers than on the gifts these days. Poor Santa. Sux when the kids get too old for oranges and candy and cheap plastic toys.

Your parents probably had the smartest approach all along.

When I was little my sister and I wanted bikes. We begged and pleaded for a bike, Christmas after Christmas. Finally, when we were Freshman and Sophomore in high school, my dad finally came across with a bike. Right, one bike for us to share. It was a used bike, beat up and rusty and ugly. Not only that, it was a boys bike for pete's sake. I don't know how tall I was then, but I'm only 5'2" now so you can imagine me trying to ride that thing. Impossible without impaling my private parts. Mom scolded my sister and me for not acting more grateful. We would have been thankful for a coupla gift cheques that Christmas!